The best discovery, however, came late. She hadn’t noticed its significance until she blew the frame up another size. She thought at first it was simply the tile with the Ducati key that Will had left in the rose garden. And so it was: until she saw that the key was markedly different. With magnification, she realized that Will must have taped his spare into the center of a tile that had already harbored a key in that spot. She enlarged it as much as possible without distorting the image: it was very like the silver key—of companion shape and size, she thought. But it was golden. And she could see an emblem engraved on it, and a ruby inlaid. Where the silver one had a spiral and a pearl at the stem, this had what looked like a stag—similar in every way to the one painted on the miniature portrait Alex had shown her. And now, thinking about it, she recalled Alex saying that Will had sketched one too.

A slapping sound came suddenly at the blacked-out window, and she heard a young woman’s voice calling her name. She tidied her space and then hurried up the passage toward the rear kitchen door. Someone was frantically waving at her.

“Lucy? So sorry to worry you. I’m Melissa—I live in the village. Alex rang and asked me to flush you out of the darkroom. Can you please call him urgently?”

Lucy beckoned her in but she was gone again in an instant. Flustered, Lucy used the house phone to call his private line and got straight through.

“You’re all right?”

“Fine.” Lucy was mystified.

“I don’t mean to alarm you, but I need you to stay out of sight and not open the door to anyone. When Dad gets my message he’ll head straight home.”

“Alex, if I hadn’t opened to anyone Melissa couldn’t have asked me to phone. You’re sounding like Simon. What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. Maybe nothing. I’d set my alarm to buzz just before one, to remind me to take the call; then I was called to an emergency surgery, still nipped out in time, so I thought, but missed the call clearing my other messages. I should have waited, I know, but they were a fraction late themselves. I don’t trust them. I’m sure it’s me they’re watching, but they may still think you have the original key, or something else to attract them. And they may know from Calvin that you dug up the documents there, at the house. Lucy, stay put till you see Dad’s car, and make sure he sees you right onto the train. I’ve tried Calvin once, and will try again now, but I’ll phone the house again in one hour—to reassure myself. God, and I’ve left Amel in surgery. Are you OK?”